News Habits & Media

A tragic mine explosion in West Virginia led the news last week, with about twice the amount of coverage given to the next biggest story: the still-ailing U.S. economy.

Stories about the 2010 Census account for a growing -- albeit small -- fraction of U.S. news coverage, according to statistics compiled by the Pew Research Center’s Project for Excellence in Journalism.

What do today’s newspaper and broadcast news executives think about the economics of their industry? Are they optimistic for the future? A new survey by the Project for Excellence in Journalism in association with the American Society of News Editors and the Radio Television Digital News Association offers answers.

For the third time in a row, health care reform was the top subject in the blogosphere last week, followed by another common online topic: global warming. On Twitter, developments with the world's largest energy particle accelerator topped the list. And on YouTube, an awkward moment in Haiti featuring two former presidents attracted more than 3 million views.

Summary of Findings Americans say they tracked news about the newly enacted health care reform law more closely than other major news stories last week, though the health care debate did not dominate coverage as it had during the final votes in Congress late last month. Close to half the public (48%) followed news about […]

Never before has so much information been available to so many people. But what role will media play in its dissemination? Can legacy media adapt so that legacy doesn't come to mean extinct? A panel of experts discuss PEJ's recently released "State of the News Media" report.

Amid good news on jobs, storms in the Northeast and the arrest of a radical Christian militia, the news agenda was more unusually diverse last week with eight different stories gaining substantial attention.

A new nationwide survey of Latinos finds that foreign-born Latinos are more positive and knowledgeable about the 2010 Census than are native-born Latinos.

The debate over the passage of health care reform reached unprecedented levels on blogs and Twitter last week, and the debate focused on both the value of the bill and the confrontations that surrounded its passing.

Summary of Findings The long-running debate over health care reform continued to dominate public attention and media coverage last week as the final skirmishes played out on Capitol Hill and President Obama set out to promote the newly-enacted law. Two-thirds of Americans (66%) say they followed the health care debate more closely than any other […]